The San Francisco 49ers made a massive move on Thursday.
After months of speculation, the 49ers finally were able to come to terms on a new contract with star receiver Brandon Aiyuk. He has developed into one of the game's best receivers and it seemed like he was going to be traded for much of the summer.
Now, a trade involving Aiyuk clearly is off the table. That doesn't mean the 49ers won't make another trade, though. Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle hinted that trade rumors involving Deebo Samuel could pick up this fall now that Aiyuk is locked in for the foreseeable future.
"The 49ers will get overtures regarding Deebo Samuel between now and the trade deadline," Silver said. "Right now--highly unlikely they'd trade him. Early November? Depends on a lot of things."
A deal certainly should be considered unlikely right now as Silver noted, but we likely will hear more speculation this season ahead of the trade deadline. Samuel was mentioned in trade rumors throughout the offseason as well, but he ultimately stuck around. There was a time near the National Football League Draft when it seemed like a real possibility that Samuel could be moved.
San Francisco has a chance to do something special this season and shouldn't trade Samuel just to do so. If the 49ers somehow struggle out of the gate, maybe then they should consider a deal. But, if the 49ers are near the top of the standings as is expected, San Francisco should do everything it can to compete for a Super Bowl title this year.
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